Dealing With Natural Disasters

His research group helps people prepare for earthquakes and devastating weather events.

- EMMA PATCH

PROFILE

WHO: Josh DeVincenzo

WHAT: Assistant director of education and training, National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School

WHERE: New York City

What is NCDP’s mission?

NCDP is a research center at Columbia University, funded primarily through research grants. We’re chipping away at a very large issue and a very large problem, but we’re doing as much as we can with the communities to make sure that some outcomes aren’t as tragic as they could be. A lot of our portfolio is focused on training and education, public awareness, and public preparedness initiatives to engage communities across the U.S. NCDP also has a research arm and a policy arm. We focus on climatological disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes, although we also address human-caused disasters.

How do you reach people in need?